Google loses landmark antitrust case as judge declares search giant a monopoly

A US judge has issued a landmark decision against Google, finding that the company violated antitrust law with its search practices and declaring the tech giant a monopoly on “general search services.” The court’s ruling could bring drastic changes to the way millions of people find information on the Web.

Google has long been the dominant search engine used around the world, while recently it has faced new competitors such as OpenAI’s new SearchGPT. But how the company has managed to stay on top of the competition with its AI-enhanced search engine has been questioned more than once. Now, a US judge has found that the company violated antitrust law by using an anti-competitive method of doing business with other companies such as Apple.

“After careful consideration and weighing the witness testimony and evidence, the court concludes that Google is a monopoly and is acting like a monopoly to maintain its monopoly,” noted U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta. “This violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”

The lawsuit stemmed from the Trump administration and called out Google for its exclusivity deals with Apple and other major companies in the mobile ecosystem. Those deals made it much harder for other search companies, like Microsoft’s Bing and DuckDuckGo, to compete. Mehta also pointed out that those deals allowed Google to charge high prices for search ads, giving rise to its monopoly in the search industry.

While the antitrust ruling is a sweeping condemnation of Google’s search business, it only addressed the company’s liability. Potential remedies won’t be issued until after the second trial. There’s also the possibility of a separate proceeding to determine whether Google will face any penalties for its antitrust practices. Given that Google plans to appeal the decision, the entire process could take months or years to fully play out.

Kent Walker, Google’s global president, noted in a statement: “This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but it says we shouldn’t have the ability to easily share it,” he said. “As this process continues, we will continue to focus on building products that people find helpful and easy to use.”

The U.S. government will use the victory in another antitrust trial against Google, set to begin on September 9, 2024. That trial will focus on whether the tech giant illegally monopolized digital advertising technology.

“This victory over Google is a historic victory for the American people,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, according to New York Times“No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law.”